The Despair Factor
by Seph Meadowes
Summary: Besides, misery loved company right? They could be miserable together. Slight Tyler/Caroline and Matt/Caroline. Spoilers for 1x17.


**Warning: Spoilers for 1x17!**

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_Misery__ no longer loves __company__. Nowadays it insists on it._** – Russell Baker**

Caroline Alicia Forbes was a terrible person.

She had to be if she was going to be all jealous after she just found the corpse of her boyfriend's sister in the woods. She shouldn't feel hurt that Matt chose to find comfort in Elena instead of her. She should be more understanding. She should stop trying to be so self-centered because at the moment it wasn't about her…as it never was anyway.

There she went again.

She mentally slapped herself. Being self-centered just came in second nature to her didn't it? She just couldn't seem to help it when no one gave her any attention not unless she started screaming or doing something crazy and out of control.

It was second nature for everyone to ignore her. She was their back-up, the spare wheel, the second choice. The one they only brought out when she was useful and then discard when they were done with her.

_Good God_. She needed a drink, something strong to numb all these self-deprecating thoughts away.

She rubbed her hands over her arms as she tried to bring heat into her skin. The thin fuchsia sweater she was wearing was doing nothing to battle off the elements, why she didn't take her coat before deciding to take a breath of fresh air out on the porch was due to a lack of common sense. She contributed it to one of her many shortcomings.

The storm had abated but it was still freezing and her fingers were going numb, the most sensible thing to do was to go back inside the house and warm up. But again, she didn't have common sense and she'd rather not see the sight of Elena comforting Matt, her self-esteem could only take so much.

Besides, no one else in there liked her to begin with.

"Forbes, it's freezing out here. Are you insane?" She jerked in surprise at the voice, effectively cutting her train of thought. At her side was Tyler Lockwood looking strangely somber for once, he didn't have the same arrogance to him that was usually there. He looked almost sad.

Caroline was the type of girl that was always ready with a response for anything. In whatever situation, she knew just the right comeback, an icy retort at the tip of her tongue just waiting to be unleashed at any provocation. She was snarky and that was a fact.

But at the moment, any retorts were cleared off from her mind. She felt tired for some reason. She just wanted peace and silence with no talking, just mind-numbing quiet. She continued to look at the dark landscape, the front yard wet with rain, and the neighbor's houses covered by the shadows of the night as the sky was a fathomless black, no stars, no moon, no light except for the street lamps.

A weight fell unto her shoulders, an unexpected warmth suddenly enveloping her. Her hand reached out to touch the fabric of Tyler's black coat, the expensive material soft in her hands, the warmth of Tyler's body heat still trapped in the fabric.

She looked up in surprise, confusion and disbelief at the dark-haired boy, wondering why he just gave her his coat. As long as she'd known Tyler Lockwood, he was not a gentleman. He wasn't kind or did small acts of kindness just for the sake of it. He was arrogant, selfish, self-centered and could be quite charming when he wanted to be. But he was still a dick. She knew that, she gave him that nickname when they were kids.

He rolled her eyes at her facial expression. "I can act like a human being when I want to be."

She continued to stare at him before reaching to take the coat off her. "It's freezing, you shouldn't-"

"Exactly," He interrupted her. "It's freezing and I know that your limbs are more poorly circulated than mine so you need it more."

She only blinked in response, suddenly feeling like she just entered an alternate universe where Tyler Lockwood was _nice_. It was a sign of the apocalypse, she was sure of it.

"Who are you and what did you do with Tyler?"

"Ate the flesh of his bones and buried the remains in your yard."

"Ha-ha." She laughed sarcastically at his morbid sense of humor. "You're very funny,"

"It's just one of my many attributes."

"As well as modesty?"

"Of course,"

His brown eyes bore into hers, amusement coloring his tanned features, a smirk on his lips and she glared back challengingly, her full mouth in a smile of her own. She couldn't help it. She was enjoying herself at the moment. Verbally sparing had always been one of her favorite things to do. A worthy opponent was rare, however.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" She asked as her hands pulled his coat tighter around her, it was so warm, Tyler must have the body temperature of a furnace.

He shrugged carelessly, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his pants. "Just for some air. You?"

"Same. It's just a little….stuffy in there at the moment."

They were quiet after that, the other looking at a different direction. It was tense pause, neither knowing what to say next. She'd grown up with Tyler, went to the same schools, had arranged play dates, and hung out at the same places. It was a wonder why they felt uncomfortable with one another at the moment when they'd never had that problem before.

Though they had different interests and there weren't that many topics to talk about. What was there really to say when a guy found out the girl he'd been dating was dead?

"You want to go out and get a beer?" Tyler asked, turning to her, his breaths visible in the cool air.

She should really say no, Matt was distraught and maybe he didn't need or want her there but she still had to be there for him even if he already had Elena for that.

But Tyler was miserable, she could see in his dark eyes. He might've treated Vicki like dirt nevertheless he must've cared about her in his own twisted way.

He was asking her for comfort and she was willing to oblige him because admittedly, she was miserable too. She wanted to get away from this house and Matt and Elena and all her insecurities practically shouting at her how stupid she was. Drowning at her sorrows just seemed like such a good idea right now.

Besides, misery loved company right? They could be miserable together.

Making up her mind, she shrugged his coat off and handed it back to him. "I'll go get my stuff."

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**I finished watching the last episode and just felt so bad for Caroline. I'm starting to lose faith in Matt/Caroline.**

** I ended up writing this scene to appease my fangirl obsession at the moment.**


End file.
